


The Keeper King

by lisachan



Series: Leoverse [57]
Category: Glee
Genre: Age Difference, Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 04:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13286565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisachan/pseuds/lisachan
Summary: This is the first Christmas Blaine, Leo and Cody will spend together with Levi too, and Blaine's a little worried things might get messy and unpleasant, considering Leo's already fretting because he fears he won't be allowed to spend any Christmas Time with Cody in the house. Luckily, Levi is not only the perfect boyfriend, but also the perfect friend and the perfect ally in this mismatched, messed up four-way relationship.





	The Keeper King

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNING:** This story is a **what if** from the original 'verse. In the canon course of events that followed the beginning of Broken Heart Syndrome, **this has never happened**.  
>  Specifically, this is a a sub-branch of the main canon 'verse branch (if you're familiar with the tree-structure of the many 'verses composing this saga) in which Cody and Vince's marriage ended, and Cody ended up living with Leo and Blaine. He started a proper relationship with the first with permission from the latter, who's more than just an observing part in it, but this is not the time nor place to discuss these details.  
> Fact is, the three live together in this relationship for a year, more or less, making it official, with great disappointment from Timmy, who, square as he is, can't understand his fathers' semi-open relationship. After a year, though, Cody meets Levi, a graphic novelist, with whom he falls in love. Levi is the kind of chill out person with a mind open enough to accept what's already going on in Cody's life, and so they begin a relationship, and as time goes by Levi is accepted by everyone else, including Leo.  
> Everyone loves Levi, including us, and we hope you will too :)  
> Incidentally, this story also participates to [Lande di Fandom](http://www.landedifandom.net/)'s 8th Maritombola, filling a box in my card for prompt n° 89, "taking care of the kids". 'Cos Blaine's the perfect daddy for all his kids. Even those who aren't his sons and daughters.

Despite the fact that his life is more often than not ridiculously chaotic and that almost nothing of what happens throughout a normal day makes any sense at all, Blaine believes he’s got a lot to be grateful for. He’s got a wonderful family, for example, two amazing, smart, beautiful baby twins and a firstborn son that might just be the most handsome and charming young man the world has ever seen, not to mention a husband that, despite having been and still sometimes being totally mad, loves him deeply, and can still surprise him with his glorious personality, not to mention the fact that he’s 20 years younger than him and very satisfying under the sheets, which is always a plus.

Something else he’s extremely grateful for is that he’s still working, despite his age, and that he loves his job dearly, as he believes it to be a part of his very own personality more than a simple mean to obtain a regular income. His agent, Dotty, keeps sending him offers and screenplays to take a look at, and that’s not something he can take for granted, considering that he’s not a man in his prime anymore, that he’s not exactly a Hollywood actor and Broadway is way more cruel with its sons and daughters when they’ve moved on from 40 year old, and that he was also away from the stage for quite some time, a few years ago, which is usually enough to kill off even the most florid careers, but, apparently, thanks to his lucky stars, not his.

He is also very thankful for his life and his experiences, for having been through so many complex and terrifying emotional disasters that almost nothing fazes him anymore, something that makes him able to stand his ground with the same effortless nonchalance in all situations, being it kids suddenly screaming right and left with waterfalls of blood pouring out their noses because while they were playing running around in circles they collided and smashed their faces into each other, or Leo’s latest nervous breakdown when for some reason he isn’t ready to meet a deadline or he thought he had cardamom hidden somewhere in the house and it turns out instead that there is none.

The thing he feels most grateful for, though, the one thing that would leave him lost and hopeless if for some reason it suddenly disappeared, is Levi.

When first Levi came into his life – into _their_ life – he was met with utter mayhem, which he unconsciously and unguiltily contributed to turn into even a bigger disaster by throwing Leo into such a pit of fear and desperation Blaine honestly thought, at some point, they wouldn’t come out of it alive. 

Instead, as it turned out, Levi proved himself to be a rational, tactful, smart and extremely adaptable person.

Which is kind of necessary when you become the boyfriend of a person who’s already the lover of another person who’s, in turn, already married with a third party.

If someone had told him, months ago, that his most precious ally in trying to keep his life as less insane as possible, would’ve been Cody’s boyfriend, he would have never believed it. But then again, if someone had told him he would have allowed for Cody to become Leo’s lover under his own patient and, sometimes, interested supervision, he wouldn’t have believed it either, and yet here they are.

All in all, he thinks, having Levi as the very foundation of his support system isn’t the most absurd thing happening in this house these days.

“So,” Levi says, smiling kindly and politely as per usual, as he keeps his hands well wrapped around the cup of hot American coffee Blaine just offered him, “I’ve met Leo a couple times, recently, and I must say he didn’t look exactly well.”

Blaine really appreciate Levi’s way of saying things. Some people believe in the power of, as someone says, “tell things as they are”, but Blaine doesn’t share that belief. He likes sugar-coating. He likes polite, gentle people trying their best not to upset someone else, even if they have to talk with them about unpleasant things.

“He’s been better, yes,” Blaine admits. They both know Leo’s not okay at all, that he is, in fact, one step away from insanity, at this point, with his over-obsessive behavior, his clinginess, which has now reached such a level that would probably justify a restrictive order, and the frustration which has built up inside him to the point of making him jumpy and on edge all the time. They both know, and yet no one had to say it out loud. These are the conversations Blaine appreciates the most. He believes in the power of talking, of putting things out there and discuss them, trying to solve them. He just thinks there are two ways to do that – pleasantly and unpleasantly. He prefers to do it the pleasant way. That never happened with Vince – he was too stubborn, too strong-willed and too damn proud. It’s the norm with Levi, instead. 

“Right,” Levi nods, slowly, “At first I thought it might’ve been something I did. You know how sometimes I do things I’m not even aware of, and things get shitty.”

Blaine nods, because that is, as a matter of fact, true. If there’s one flaw Levi has, is that he tends to be very easily distracted. Or, to be more specific: in a household where there’s usually nothing more important than spending time with a loved one and make sure they’re satisfied under every possible viewpoint, he sometimes prefers to value some other things more, such as for example his job, which is truly his art and his most important expressive tool, or his time alone. 

This attitude, which Leo struggles and fails to understand every single time, as there is nothing more important to him than being physically close to the people he loves and giving and receiving their complete attention 24/7, has sometimes in the past caused some friction between Levi and Leo. Hence, Levi’s worry.

Unfortunately, though, this time it is not the case.

“I believe it’s something different, Levi,” Blaine admits with a sigh.

“That’s what I thought too,” Levi nods, “I questioned myself and honestly there was nothing I did recently that could justify Leo being so upset, so I decided it must’ve been something else. And then I got it: it’ll be Christmas soon.”

Blaine exhales, resting his shoulders against the back of the couch. He’s so perceptive.

“Let’s say Leo tends to be a little over-agitated during Christmas,” Blaine explains, “He loves Christmas a lot, and he likes to spend it with the people he loves too. Last year you weren’t here yet, and…”

“And Leo had Cody all to himself,” Levi nods, knowingly, “Just as I thought.”

Blaine sighs again. Sometimes having to explain Leo to other people is mortifying.

“I’m really, really sorry, Levi,” he says, “It has nothing to do with you. I promise that Leo will understand if you—”

“So I was thinking,” Levi goes on as if he hadn’t even heard him, though his knowing smile clearly states otherwise, “You already have an extra room for Cody, here, don’t you? Maybe we could pass by on the 24th afternoon. Maybe we could stay for dinner. Perhaps even spend the night, if you think it’d be okay. And then be gone first thing in the morning on the 25th, before Timmy arrives. That wouldn’t cause too many troubles, I believe?” and he tilts his head to the side, offering Blaine the kind of look he always casts his way whenever he knows there was a situation building up and he managed to defuse it before it could even turn into a problem.

Suddenly Blaine feels like crying. He leans in, holding Levi’s hands in his own and looking at him with watery eyes. “I am so glad you exist,” he says, “And that life gave you to me.”

Levi chuckles, freeing his hands just to wrap his arms around Blaine’s neck in a warm hug. “Don’t say that, come on.”

“No, seriously,” Blaine shakes his head, “I didn’t know how to ask. I wasn’t even sure you didn’t have other plans. I prayed I don’t know how long that you’d come up with the idea yourself to spare me the embarrassment of begging. I don’t know how you did it, this is a miracle.”

“It really is not,” Levi chuckles again, crouching his shoulders, “You think Cody hasn’t been on edge lately? I think they both want to spend Christmas together, and none of them wanted to ask explicitly ‘cause they were worried we might get angry.”

Blaine sighs again, pinching the root of his own nose. “It’s so stressful, I swear,” he complains, because he knows with Levi he’s allowed to, “Sometimes it’d be much easier if they just asked.”

“Some things they ask for,” Levi smiles understandingly, “Leo asked, before he booked his Christmas present for Cody.”

“That is true,” Blaine nods, “He asked me too. But then again, if he hadn’t I’m not sure he’d still be around to tell the tale, so that might’ve been basic self-preservation.”

Levi chuckles, swallowing what’s left of his coffee and then standing up. “It’s set, then, ‘kay? We’ll be here around five. Please tell Leo not to overdo it with the kitchen stuff.”

“Try ask the sun not to shine,” Blaine sighs and shakes his head, “Leo always overdoes everything, Levi.”

Levi just chuckles as he leaves. He’s been here for a grand total of 20 minutes, and in that ridiculously limited amount of time he managed to solve a problem Blaine’s been dancing around since December 1st.

He really hopes Cody and Levi never break up. He has no idea how he would survive without him.

*

When he tells Leo, something extremely amusing happens, and Blaine has no idea how he manages to keep the laughter hidden upon seeing his whole face lighten up, and then something literally clutch behind his eyes, together with a pursing of the lips that clearly states: I was about to ask for more right away, but I’m holding myself back because I love you very, very much and sometimes I feel a pinch of shame whenever I realize how much I ask of you.

“Will they really stay the whole night?” Leo finally manages to ask, putting aside the other question that, Blaine knows, will end up coming out during the conversation, inevitably.

“Yes,” Blaine nods, “Levi is a saint and offered spontaneously.”

Leo stops moving altogether for a second, his eyes lost somewhere else. When he speaks, he does it with a pensive, low voice full of uncharacteristic respect. “I don’t know how he does it,” he admits, “Were it me, I’d be beating you for even thinking I would share Cody on Christmas’ Eve, and I’d be chaining him to the bed for good measure.”

This time, Blaine can’t avoid laughing, and he does, throwing his head back. “As I said, he is a saint.”

“No, seriously,” Leo shakes his head, “Sometimes when I think about the things he’s willing to sacrifice, I end up thinking he can’t possibly love Cody enough. I wouldn’t be able to let go of so much.”

Despite the laughter from before, Blaine can’t help but frown at the sentence. This is a slippery slope for Leo to start sliding down. He’s seen that happen before. This whole thing actually started with that simple thought, Leo believing Vince wasn’t doing Cody justice with the amount of love, in his opinion insufficient, he showered his husband with. 

“Leo…”

“No, I know,” Leo shakes his head right away, and his voice and eyes are way more aware than before, “I don’t think Levi doesn’t love Cody. As a matter of fact, and it surprises me before it does you, I’m quite aware that he could love him more than I do if that was even remotely possible. It’s the quality of his love I can’t understand. I see it, but I can’t understand it.”

“It’s the right kind of love, kid,” Blaine sighs, getting closer to his husband and stroking his cheek with a thumb, thinking it’s a quality of love Leo has right in front of his eyes every day of his life, and so it makes sense for him not to recognize it, the same way you can’t really see your children getting taller when you see them every day, “A love that doesn’t choke.”

Leo closes the distance between them, leaning against his chest. Blaine hears him sigh and release some tension as he closes his eyes, trusting himself to his husband’s capacity to hold him up. “Am I a bad person?” he whispers uncertainly, “For wanting to choke?”

The honest answer would be an answer Blaine’s not interested in giving, and the dishonest one would be a lie Blaine’s not interested in telling. He keeps both for himself as he presses his lips against Leo’s forehead, then his nose, finally his lips. 

“Don’t stress yourself out about it. Be thankful of the present you’re receiving.”

Leo nods slowly, and then blushes so vividly Blaine can almost feel his skin getting warmer through his sweater. “Will… will I be allowed some time alone with Cody before we go to bed?” he finally finds the courage to ask.

Blaine laughs louder than before, shaking his head in utter surrender. “Ten minutes,” he says, and upon seeing Leo turn whiter than the moon he laughs again and corrects himself. “Fine,” he concedes, “Fifteen.”

That’s not nearly enough to even begin to satisfy Leo, but since it’s fifteen minutes more than what he would be allowed in normal conditions anyway, he ends up swallowing it and accepting it with a thankful smile.

*

He tells Leo not to overdo it with the dinner, as Levi asked, but just as he predicted there’s no stopping the frenzy holding his husband captive in Christmas time. Much like all the kids who spent the entirety of their childhood coddled and pampered, there is no limit to how much he can fixate on the most trivial and unimportant things, turning them into details of capital importance.

Last year, he already had to drop the Christmas morning present opening tradition – or better, he’s had to split it in two, because Timmy couldn’t tolerate to play the happy family with his father’s lover, not to mention his own partner’s father, nonchalantly sipping hot cocoa wearing nothing but an oversized Christmas sweater in the sitting room, which resulted in an ultimatum sounding dangerously as “if he’s here when I arrive, there won’t be a Christmas for this family this year”. Which forced Leo to have half of his Christmas party on Christmas Eve, with Blaine and Cody, and the rest of it on the 25th morning, with Blaine and all their children.

It seems he’ll have to replicate this year, which means nothing could have convinced him not to prepare enough food for a small European country’s army. Blaine tried to stop him, but he received a “your son is already ruining Christmas with his close-mindedness, Blaine, leave me the food, at least”, which silenced him once and for all – it’s never a good sign when Leo calls Timmy “your son”.

In all fairness, though Timmy _is_ remarkably square for his age, he’s definitely not as narrow-minded as Leo pictures him to be. And Blaine can’t really blame him for refusing to understand and accept his parents now live with a third person which is in all regards a part of their relationship. And things did nothing but become even more incomprehensible, for Timmy, when Leo accepted Levi after doing everything in his power to kick Vince out of Cody’s life, willingly or not. 

Theirs isn’t the easiest condition to understand, nor to explain. Timmy can’t understand it on his own and doesn’t want it explained because the mere idea makes him wince. It’s one of those things they’re probably never going to be able to solve, they simply need to learn how to work around it, but it’s going to take a lot of time and patience to get there. Now, time life gives out for free, patience on the other hand is in possession of only a few blessed individuals. Blaine has it, Leo doesn’t. So Blaine will have to provide it for two.

Meanwhile, he’s going to have to eat for five people if he doesn’t want the parade of appetizers, roasted goose, honey glazed ham and the six different cakes Leo baked to go to waste.

When Levi arrives, for the first time in forever he startles Blaine with a disappointed glance. “I had asked you…” he starts up.

Covered in shame, Blaine looks down, and if he had a tail he’d probably be keeping it between his legs right now. “I am so sorry. I tried. Believe me. There was no stopping him.”

Levi looks at him like that for a few more minutes, and then he laughs, shaking his head. “Don’t be silly. There’s no need to apologize. I’ll ask him to put some of it in tupperwares and I’ll take the leftovers home. Maybe I’ll manage to eat like a normal person for a little longer after Christmas is over.”

It’s Blaine’s time to frown, now. “Levi, seriously, your carelessness when it comes to all practical things of life is getting out of control. It is imperative you remember that you have to eat at least twice a day and sleep at least seven hours per night. Make notes, if you have to.”

Levi chuckles, scratching his nape. “You’re nice worrying about me.”

“Of course I worry about you, if you work yourself to death I will be left alone facing madness, and I’m too old for that.”

Levi laughs, this time, and reaches out to hug him. “You’re a perfectly fit old man, Blaine, don’t worry. You can weather anything.”

It’s reassuring to hear it coming from him, and Blaine allows himself to enjoy it for a second, until he hears Leo’s strangled voice exhale a desperate “Jesus Christ”, which signals very specifically that it is time to stop indulging himself and return to take care of his husband, because something traumatic is happening to him.

The traumatic event happening is, in fact, seeing Cody wearing what he’s currently wearing, which, Blaine must admit, risked giving him a heart attack too.

Cody loves to dress up for Christmas. He’s the shyest boy on Earth but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t wear ridiculously inappropriate sexy costumes every time he starts hear Jingle Bells playing on the radio, and this year, after the triumph that the Santa’s Little Helper costume was last year, he went for a gingerbread man costume. Even though, considering he’s wearing a dress with a proper skirt, it’d be more accurate to call it a gingerbread lady costume.

“I’m gonna die,” Leo screeches. Blaine doesn’t believe it’s going to happen, but he can see where his husband’s coming from. He never thought a heart-shaped dress could look so good on someone as flat as Cody is, but he must admit the costume, with its brown corset and skirt covered in colorful multi-shaped decorations and the puffy red shoulder bands, not to mention the final touch Cody added by styling his hair up in two very short ponytails by the sides of his head, held together by red and green sparkly rubber bands, is quite a sight to behold. 

Blaine sighs, one hand on his hip, the other arm limp down his side. “If Levi agrees, you can hug him,” he says.

Levi laughs, moving past them and towards the sitting room. “Be my guest,” he simply says. 

Leo throws himself at Cody so fast Blaine can scarcely see his shadow move.

*

They manage to survive dinner, which is a miracle per se. They drink some wine too, which is probably not a smart thing for Blaine to allow, but it’s Christmas, for Christ’s sake, he’s not going to play daddy on such a night. If his boys want to get a little tipsy, well, they can and very well will.

Around nine o’ clock they call Marge and Rod, next door, to say goodnight to the twins. Then they text Timmy to make sure tomorrow he remembers to pass by the house to pick them up and get them home, and finally, only minutes before Leo could freak out screaming it’ll be midnight soon and they haven’t sat down to open the presents yet, they finally settle around the Christmas tree Leo has spent hours decorating at the beginning of December, and they start exchanging presents.

“Blaine first,” Leo decides. Blaine already knows Leo’s going to put himself last in the list, because he believes he has the best presents to give. It usually is the truth, and Blaine’s glad he can get rid of his own silly presents first.

“Alright,” he stands up and fetches four boxes wrapped up in red and gold paper, tied together with a sparkly golden ribbon. The wrapping is nice only because a nice girl handled it back at the shop, but no one needs to know that right now. “They are all the same but they’re perfect for each of you,” he says, grinning as he passes the presents around.

The moment before the boys finally unwrap their ridiculous red underwear for a second Blaine fears they will actually be upset, but the second after they’re all already laughing their asses off, some of them – namely, Leo – literally rolling on the floor, and Blaine can smile, satisfied, knowing his idea worked out. He got red panties with a bunny on the front for Cody, red briefs with Rudolph’s face – and nose – on the front for Levi and red underpants covered in small Santas, snowmen and candy canes for Leo. 

None of them comments on the fact that these are not the kind of Christmas presents expected from such a man as he is: they all know the night itself, the time they’re spending together and in general the life they’re leading now is more or less an everlasting Christmas present Blaine just keeps giving and giving, every minute, every hour of the day. They’re grateful for that. And for the silly underwear they will all be allowed to show off on New Year’s Eve.

“Now Levi!” Leo says excitedly, but Cody, clearly knowing something Leo doesn’t know, starts fretting on the couch, and finally stands up.

“No,” he says, “Me first.”

He’s nervous and a little anxious, but that’s just a natural state for him when he feels under pressure. Blaine can’t imagine why he would feel like that, considering he’s in the company of three men that consider his mere existence on planet Earth a gift in and of itself, but he renounced long ago to try and comprehend the tortuous swirls inhabiting that messy little head of him. Like all survivors, Cody created scaffoldings in his mind which help him sustain himself, but their design is intricate like Escher’s stairways. It’s a labyrinth only few can walk through, and Blaine’s not sure he’d be one of the lucky ones, so he keeps himself on the very outline of it. He sometimes takes a guess, walks a few steps inside, and when he’s lucky he picks the right turn and ends up witnessing something beautiful, but he’s always smart enough to retrace his own steps walking out, and wise enough not to take his chances twice in a row.

He walks towards the Christmas tree and retrieves a black and clearly expensive looking box, wrapped up with a satin black bow. Just the box probably costs more than everything else under that tree, and Blaine immediately understands it’s for him, so he’s not surprised when Cody offers him the present.

“It’s… to thank you,” Cody says, looking down as his cheeks turn red, “For everything. I know it’s not enough, but I wanted it to be something you would use, so you could…” he bites at his bottom lip and he hesitates a moment, probably one of the sexiest things Blaine has ever seen, especially because Cody’s not aware of the promise his whole body and behavior always is, and the attractive power he holds over people, “You could put it on and think about me,” dear God, this boy is going to be the death of them all, “And know how grateful I am.”

The little speech leaves everyone speechless. Blaine accepts the box with a tiny smile that gets bigger as he unwraps it, finding an Armani shirt inside. It’s gray, extremely classic and at the same time modern, thanks to the hidden buttons and the crêpe fabric. More importantly, just by looking at it, and by touching its neck, Blaine knows it’s the perfect size for him, as if Cody had it tailor-fitted especially for him, which at this point he wouldn’t doubt.

“Pet,” he says in a short, moved chuckle, “It’s too much.”

“No,” Cody shakes his head quickly, his little ponytails swinging right and left, “No, it isn’t.”

Leo chuckles, standing up and wrapping his arms around Blaine’s shoulders, getting closer to look at the shirt from up close. “Wow, it looks like just the thing for you,” he states the obvious for everyone to see and know that Cody’s effort has been appreciated. 

“It is,” Blaine nods, and then leans in, placing a soft kiss on Cody’s head, “But I’d have been content just by having you here tonight, little one.”

Cody covers his face with both hands and shakes his head again. He’s so embarrassed it makes Blaine want to bite him, but he holds himself back as he looks at him walk back to the tree and retrieve Levi’s and Leo’s presents. He got Levi a desk night lamp, which he gives to him demanding in exchange the solemn promise that he will remember to turn it on when he works late, and he got Leo an embarrassing amount of Funko! Pops from the latest TV shows Leo’s been binge-watching – one for each TV show, and all of Leo’s favorite characters, of course. 

“There’s another present for you…” he adds, gravitating around Leo as if he found it physically hard to move away, “But… I’ll show it to you later.”

Blaine can almost feel Leo’s attention peak and reach its climax, but honestly he’s not disturbed by it. Not as he’s busy gently stroking the silky fabric of the shirt, looking at Cody’s thighs peeking out of his short skirt, wondering if his skin is as soft as the fabric he’s touching. It’s a thought he rarely allows himself to entertain, because he knows how dangerous it is, despite the few moments Cody and him have shared since he’s moved into the house. But every now and then it feels right. And tonight it does.

“Now is it my turn?” Levi asks. Cody sits back down and nods with a sigh, and as Blaine watches him fetch his presents not from underneath the Christmas tree but from his bag behind the couch he instantly understands why Cody wanted to go first.

Levi drew for them as a Christmas present, and that’s something you only need to know him very little to know he doesn’t do often. Or at all, actually.

Levi takes his work in great consideration, and his drawings are always his work. He doesn’t draw for pleasure, doesn’t sketch things out just for the sake of it. He’s either working on something or not. Therefore, for him to decide to take some time off work to draw something especially for them is as valuable a thing as no other present made by no one else here. Even Blaine knows, and he’s impressed by it. It doesn’t surprise him to see Cody instantly brings his hand to his mouth to hide a sob as his eyes get all watery – he probably knew what Levi had done for them, but he didn’t know he would’ve received the very same present too – or to see Leo breathlessly watching him as if he couldn’t even believe such a thing is happening.

“Okay, so, these aren’t complete,” which is something else that adds immediate value to what is about to be delivered to them, as Levi not only cares very much about his art, but is also very jealous of it, which means he’d rather punch himself in the face than letting someone else see something of his still unrefined, “But I didn’t have much time to complete them and I wanted you all to have them today. They’re personal, but I don’t mind if you share it with each other. I only ask you don’t share it with anyone else, or with the public. They’re not meant to be out there.”

Blaine watches him as he offers Leo and Cody not simply a single sheet of paper, as he had thought in the beginning, but a whole short story, ten pages, more or less, stapled together with a simple cover, a white page with a title handwritten in black. He doesn’t manage to catch the title of Leo’s short story, but he sees Cody’s. The Loneliest Heart. 

He wonders briefly if Cody’s ever going to show it to him, but then Levi delivers a short story to him too, and he can scarcely contain his emotion. He’s getting too old to ride such rollercoasters.

“I called it The Keeper King,” Levi says with a smile, “I hope you like it.”

He starts flipping through the pages of his present, immersing himself in the story. Levi sketched it out perfectly, all lights and shadows are there where they’re supposed to be. The only flaw, if one might call it that, is that he didn’t have time to ink everything, so he just covered the basic outlines. All the rest is charcoal on paper, and it’s amazing.

The main character of his story is an old king. He’s wifeless and childless, and he wanders alone in his lonely castle until he finds two beautiful children in the snow. He picks them up and brings them in. For pages and pages he spends time with them, plays with them, feeds them, raises them up to be two young men, beautiful princes. And then news from a near reign come in, another castle is under attack, another king risks to be killed, and the young princes, brought up in honesty and bravery by their good keeper, feel that they must go and fight the good fight. And so they bid their father farewell, and ride into the cold, cold night, while the king remains in his castle, once again silent, once again alone. And joy fills his heart, because he knows his life had purpose, as he closes his eyes on the eternal winter of his land for one last time.

Blaine raises his eyes from the story and finds Levi’s. He hasn’t moved from where he was standing. “This was very important to me,” he says, “This story. I wanted you to have it. Sorry if it’s incomplete.”

“No…” Blaine shakes his head, short of breath, short of words, “No, it’s—”

“I wanted you to know that I appreciate it,” Levi goes on, his voice steady, firm, the marble tower Blaine can cling to in the constant storm that is his life, “What you did. What you keep on doing. For Leo, yes, but more importantly, to me, for Cody. For this person that I love,” only then his voice falters a bit with emotion, “Even if no one else saw it, I do. Thank you.”

Blaine doesn’t need much more to shed a few tears. He throws his arms around Levi’s shoulders and hugs him tightly, whispering in his ear. “No, thank _you_ ,” he says, “For making things easier.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Blaine hears Leo’s voice and parts from Levi. He feels his hand on his shoulder, and turns to look at him. His beautiful prince is a man, now, smiling confidently at him. He’s not going to war, though, thank God. “Don’t get all emotional yet, you still have to see my present.”

“You’re right,” Blaine chuckles, trying to collect himself. He sees Cody cry with the corner of his eye, and then sees Leo and Levi share a tight hug, very much similar to the one he just gave Levi in passion and strength, and he takes a mental note to himself to ask Leo what was the subject of his short story, later tonight.

Then Leo takes center stage, positioning himself in front of the tree and wearing his Santa hat for scenic effect.

“Okay, Levi,” he says, fetching a squared box and holding it out to Levi, “This is for you.”

He’s the only one in the room who personally wrapped his own presents, which explains the ridiculous amount of decorations hanging from the red ribbon crossing over the colorful wrapping paper underneath. There are tiny reindeers, snow crystals and Christmas balls chimes Levi carefully removes and puts aside before unwrapping the present.

He instantly starts laughing as he takes a look at the DVD box inside: it’s the whole collection of all five seasons of a webseries Leo got enamored with a few months ago, something about a Jewish man ending up lost in space on board of a variously inhabited spaceship for random reasons Blaine never investigated. He remembers Leo saying this would be perfect for Levi, and it’s just like Leo to decide a TV show is perfect for you, and then giving it all to you as a Christmas present expecting you to watch it – and of course like it.

“I remember about this,” Levi says, still smiling, “You told me about it last time we met at that library. I knew you’d find a way to force-feed it to me, at some point.”

“Christmas is the best occasion to force-feed things to your loved ones,” Leo grins. Then he grabs a white and red envelope, all decorated with washi tape and with Blaine’s name elegantly written on the back. He delivers it to his husband, and Blaine takes it with a smile, suppressing the tiny spark of jealousy coming from knowing Leo just chose to keep Cody’s present for last.

“For me, I suppose?”

“The name wasn’t clear enough?” Leo giggles, “Come on, old man, open it.”

Blaine smiles as he obeys, taking out of the envelope an embarrassing Christmas card with a very nice vintage bare-chested Harlequin Santa. The picture tears a laughter out of his throat, but the same laughter turns into a ridiculous cooing sound when he sees what the card holds inside: Leo booked a table at the Chateau, his favorite French restaurant. Leo hates French cuisine, so his sacrifice to allow his husband to eat escargot in his presence would be a nice present already, but what’s even more important about the Chateau is that it’s a very high-class restaurant, with a proper dress code, which means, contrary to all the other places he usually drags Blaine too, Leo will be forced not to dress like a teenage boy to merely cross the entrance door. Which is a very nice thought, considering Blaine adores to see him all dolled up for a nice classy dinner, and he never manages to do that because Leo’s idea of the perfect dinner out usually involves the benches of Burger King, worn out jeans and a beanie hat. 

“Aw, thank you very much, kid,” he smiles, reaching out for him. Leo literally flies between his arms, and lands on his lap on the armchair, rubbing his whole face against his like a kitten.

“Are you happy?” he asks, almost purring.

Blaine laughs, and kisses him happily. “I’m over the moon,” he answers, and he’s not even lying.

He barely has any chance to even feel disappointed when, soon after receiving the kiss, Leo springs up again, passing by the tree and catching another envelope before heading straight to Cody. 

Now, Blaine already knows what Cody’s present is. He gave permission for it, after all. Therefore, all he needs to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the show, because he’s sure it’s going to be great.

Leo’s wearing his best smug mask when he approaches Cody, holding the envelope out for him. It’s amazing how different he looks whenever he interacts with Cody, than the way he looks when he interacts with him. Blaine can almost feel the change underneath his own skin, it’s a change in Leo’s molecular structure that echoes through the entire room. With Blaine he always tends to be lazier, he trusts himself to him more than half of the time, he lets Blaine take charge, not for a lack of ability, but because he prefers to be taken care of. With Cody he’s exactly the opposite. He takes charge. He dominates. He provides. He’s a whole different, fascinating person, a side of him Blaine can only see when Cody’s in the room. A fascinating person whose main purpose is to dash and bedazzle.

“So, remember when you told me about the new graphic novel you’re planning?”

Cody’s face instantly lightens up with interest. He’s got a lot of things that give him joy, but nothing can make his whole being glow like the stories he invents and puts down on paper. Even if no one read them, he’d keep writing them, because to produce them gives him life in itself. 

The last one he came up with is a project he’s been working on for quite a few months, now. It’s the story of a young girl accepting a job as the keeper of a castle built on a cliff, a castle many say to be haunted. The girl’s not scared, and the money she’s offered are a lot, so she accepts the job and moves into the castle, only to find out it is, indeed, inhabited by a ghost. But the ghost isn’t scary: on the contrary, it’s a melancholic, tragic figure, a body without a shape, without a face, without a recognizable voice, a presence that can only speak inside the mind of the guests of the house, a presence forever searching for their long lost love. And so, as the girl becomes the object of the ghost’s nostalgia, she comes to know the stories of all those who preceded her, all the other main characters of a love story with a tragic ending that keeps repeating itself, as in the end all of the castle’s keepers, trapped in the whirlpool of the sad ghost’s memories, end up identifying with their long lost love, and jump off the cliff into the dark, roaring ocean.

Whether the girl survives or not in the end is still undecided – just as he was starting to work on it, Cody suddenly found himself at a short of inspiration because he couldn’t find any castle to take as an ideal setting for his story in the near vicinity. Unfortunately, as everybody around him told him, the USA aren’t a place for really old English castles. England is, quite obviously.

And so Leo decided to do the most befuddling thing he could do, and went out and booked two flights for London, final destination: Lindisfarne Castle, a 16th century castle on Holy Island, Northumberland, England, where he managed to book the entire place with what Blaine believes might have been a little fortune, for the whole week. There, they’re going to immerse themselves in the precise atmosphere Cody needs to find inspiration for his work, and in the meanwhile they’re going to stay in a nice little local bed and breakfast, where they’ll be served and revered the entire time, and where Leo’s probably going to have Cody much more than he’d normally be allowed to.

Naturally, when he came to Blaine to ask for permission to take Cody away for such a long time, the topic was brought up in some form. Blaine asked him how he wanted to carry that out, and Leo, for the first time shamefully looking down at the tips of his own feet, told him he already knew he wouldn’t have been able to contain himself. If he could have it, he’d take it. He wanted Blaine to know it beforehand.

What to answer to such an honest display of candor? Blaine had to give in. If anything, for the fact that Leo had had the guts to admit it on his own, sparing him the torture of having to drag it out of his mouth.

He knows Leo actually asked for permission from Levi too. He wonders if he asked for permission to have him too, in addition to fly him there all the way across the ocean.

It doesn’t matter now, anyway. The only permission holding some value for Leo was, naturally, Blaine’s, and he got it, and that’s why he’s here, now, standing straight in front of Cody, holding out the envelope for him, saying “I thought you needed inspiration,” as he watches him retrieve a simple printed picture of Lindisfarne Castle, sitting on its isolated island out the English coast. 

“Where…” Cody whispers breathlessly, “Where is this? It’s exactly what I…”

“What you imagined, right?” Leo grins, silently complimenting himself for his spot on choice. “Turn the paper.”

Behind the picture, Leo printed their plane reservations. Cody reads them carefully and silently, and when he reads the landing airport he lets out a shocked gasp that’s worth all the permissions in the world. “Leo…!” he squeals, looking up. Leo instantly opens his arms, and Cody throws himself at him, circling his neck with his tiny, fragile arms and clinging to his neck as he throws a shocked, watery glance at Levi, first, and at Blaine right after, wheezing, “But… are you okay with it?”

“Bunny, it was either I was okay with it, or he’d have kidnapped you,” Levi laughs.

Still holding Cody in his arms, and as he laughs too, Leo leans in to grab a pillow from the couch and throws it at him. “Stop it! I wouldn’t have kidnapped him.”

“Yeah, that’s what you say, but how can I trust you? You had blood-shot eyes when you came asking!”

“Asshole!” Leo replies, but he’s still laughing.

As Blaine looks at them, he can’t wipe a smile off his face. Even though their situation is complicated and messy, and probably messed up too, he can’t help but find tenderness in his heart when he thinks about it. He thinks there is always at least one of these things in everyone’s life: something that’s confusing and scary to a point, but you can’t do without. His isn’t a thing, it’s three. He’s just lucky like that.

*

Later on, Leo joins him in the bedroom after his fifteen minutes with Cody are over.

“Can you believe Levi was working when I got in their bedroom?” he says walking in and taking off his sweater, “I swear that man is not okay. It’s impossible to be so single-minded without some form of autism to be involved.”

“You’re a doctor, now?” Blaine chuckles, putting his book down and sitting up with his shoulders against the headboard of the bed.

“No, but it’s really scary,” Leo kicks away his shoes, sitting on the edge of the bed, “I mean, Cody was there, draped on him in his PJs, clearly asking for attention, and he just sat there like you now, reviewing some storyboard. How is it even possible?”

“My love, just because you’re unable to keep your hands off Cody, whether he is draped on you or not, doesn’t mean everyone else suffers from the same compulsion.”

“You call that suffering, but I’m not hurting,” Leo grins, and then points down at his own crotch, “Except for, you know.”

“Wow, fifteen minutes weren’t enough?” Blaine giggles and opens his arms, welcoming Leo against his chest under the covers.

“Psh, are you kidding me? Sometimes he can make me come in two minutes and thirty seconds, like a teenager. It’d be embarrassing if I cared about timing.”

“Jesus, Leo,” Blaine laughs again, “Have you no shame?”

“None,” he smiles confidently, “You eradicated it from me, thankfully. But anyway, time wasn’t a problem, you simply hadn’t given permission for it, so I just roughed him up a bit and then delivered him back to his boyfriend like a good old-fashioned lover.”

“Oh, I’m so very proud of you,” Blaine chuckles and rewards him with a slow, loving kiss, squeezing his shoulders a little as he brings him close. “Was Levi upset?”

“Are you kidding me, he barely noticed Cody was back in the room.”

“Now that’s completely unbelievable, kid.”

“Okay, okay, I might’ve exaggerated that,” Leo laughs, “But no, he wasn’t upset. Seriously, he’s so perfect he’s disgusting, every now and then I would gladly kick him out the house. Then I remember I love him, and he’s allowed to stay.”

“Right,” Blaine smiles, and then a thought hits the back of his head and bounces forward, arousing his curiosity. “Speaking of which… would you like to tell me what your comic was about?”

Leo grins, settling better against him. “It’s called The Hunger of the Wolf and it’s amazing, but you will never read it,” he says, “It’s too personal.”

“Even for me?”

“Especially for you,” Leo chuckles, “I don’t know how he does it. I suppose it’s part of the reason why he’s so successful. He finds the center of a person and exposes it bare for all to see. No shame, no judgement, just the core of it as it is. Wasn’t it the same for your comic?”

Blaine looks down at him, at his perfect face, at his beautiful raven curls perfectly hiding a few graying hair he only can see because he knows Leo’s body like the back of his hand. He thinks about Leo as he was when he first met him, his beautiful baby prince in the snow, untarnished, pure and innocent to a fault. He thinks about Cody, how perfect he looked when he met him visiting Leo in college, how scary. He thinks of all the rises and falls of their relationship over the years, losing Leo after Dublin, finding him in New York only to lose him again on that very same day, then finding him again, for good, when he came back to Lima, how he met Cody back in Broadway in one of the gaps between losing Leo and finding him again, how he clung to him for dear life for a few blessed weeks until he lost him once more in the night, before finding him again, and in the most unexpected of ways, years after in Italy, and how all this chain of losing and finding brought them all here, today, four instead of two, and how he feels, whenever he closes his eyes to sleep, that he’s content, that he did good, that with all that happened in his life he still managed to find something that gives him happiness.

He smiles, kissing him on his forehead. “It was exactly the same,” he admits.

Leo smiles a knowing smile and hugs him, settling down to sleep.

The Keeper King closes his eyes on his winter land, except that this winter’s not eternal, and this isn’t the last time he does it. Joy still fills his heart, though, because he knows his life has purpose.


End file.
